Monthly archives for July, 2015

As I grow older, I am less subject to hype around works of art. I like reviews and I pay attention to critical mass of opinion, but I’m more likely to wait until the furor dies down after a release of something so that I make sure I come to the work fairly fresh […]

Everything, Everything is an arresting YA novel from Nicola Yoon that is both a completely conventional YA (girl is shy and in her shell, boy brings girl out of shell, etc.) and a surprising subversion of the genre. When we first meet Maddie, she’s the girl in the bubble. She hasn’t left her house since […]

This One Moment is a lovely, believable romance about an injured veteran coming back from Iraq and an intern at his rehab hospital. Didi is a trainee therapist assigned to the hospital for a PhD internship. Walker is a patient, suffering from physical and emotional injuries after loosing almost his entire unit to an ambush […]

Even the Score is the first in Meader’s new Tall, Dark and Texan series and is about Tess and Hunter. These two have a complicated history – Tess broke up Hunter’s wedding to her best friend several years ago. When they meet again by happenstance, it turns out that he’s found a way for her to […]

Simply Irresistible is our introduction to Lucky Harbor, a sleepy coastal town in Washington State. One of my favorite series, Lucky Harbor can be read out of order – the series is really a set of four trilogies following friends or families – but I’d recommend starting at the beginning so you can let Shalvis […]

Playing with Fire is the second book in Meader’s fabulous Hot in Chicago series and my first exposure to her writing. I seemed to have missed the gene that makes firefighters irresistible, so I usually give romances around the firehouse a pass. Hoo buddy, am I glad I picked this one up. I loved […]

Brown Eyed Girl is the fourth novel in Kleypas’s Travis family series. This one centers on Joe, the final brother to find his match in the rambling family of wealthy but down to earth Texans. Joe’s happy ever after comes in the form of Avery, a wedding planner extraordinaire with a serious guard up […]

Has to Be Love is a YA releasing in September and one worth putting on your list. Clara is an aspiring writer who lives in Knik, Alaska – which sounds to be in the middle of absolutely nowhere – with a dream of going to Columbia University. She has a lovely sounding boyfriend, Elias, a doting […]

The Queen’s Vow is the latest book in my on-going project of trying to read as much as I can about women leaders throughout history. I am slowly realizing, as I move through adulthood, how little I know about the women who have gone before me that have shaped the world. I know more […]

Between the World and Me is not written for me and yet I knew it was required reading. I, like the rest of the world, have watched as the idea of America has been continually challenged on the streets of various cities. I’ve watched it all from across an ocean, living in country that […]